Some in China have argued that a revival of religion might help fill the moral vacuum that has been swirling at the center of Chinese society ever since the country shed its belief in communism to embrace market economics three decades ago. But with surveys showing trust eroding in China, news of a fake monk scheme at a sacred mountain suggests even religion isn’t immune to the no-holds-barred hustler ethos that has come to dominate so much of the country.

Two temples were shut down and six people arrested at Wutaishan, one of China’s four sacred Buddhist mountains, over illegal fund-raising, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

The Temple for the God of Wealth and another temple called Foguo Zhongxin reportedly hired fake monks to trick tourists into donating money and buying expensive incense, Xinhua said, adding that the temples also fooled tourists into paying too much for ceremonies.

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Fake monks deceiving people into donating to dubious or nonexistent religious causes is not new in China, though the latest scandal is noteworthy for having occurred in such a high profile place.

Wutaishan, or Mt. Wutai, is often portrayed as the most important of China’s sacred mountains. Located in northwestern China’s Shanxi province, it’s a popular pilgrimage site and tourist attraction, home to more than 50 monasteries and temples. It was added to Unesco’s World Heritage List in 2009, though critics of Unesco’s role in China say the listing often means a site becomes overrun with tourists and dominated by commercial interests.

News of the scheme comes at the same time as new survey data from the state-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences shows trust levels dropping to a record low in the country. The data, based on a survey of 1,900 randomly selected residents in seven cities, showed less than half of Chinese urbanites agreeing with the idea that “most people can be trusted,” the state-run China Daily reported Monday.

The survey results, published in the latest annual Blue Book of Social Attitudes, match earlier studies that found levels of trust in China to be high compared to other countries like the U.S. but slipping over time.

The Mount Wutai Administration Bureau closed the temples in question on Friday and revoked their business licenses, according to Xinhua. Neither of the temples could be reached for comment. An official in the Wutaishan propaganda office told China Real Time on Monday that the Foguo Zhongxin, an illegally built temporary cottage, had already been torn down. People in charge of the Temple for the God of Wealth, an illegal temple located in a village, had all been detained, the official said.

“We will continue to regulate temples and shops on Mount Wutai to display a good image to tourists,” Xinhua quoted the director of the Mouth Wutai Administration Bureau as saying.

The companies in charge of managing Wutaishan and some of China’s other sacred peaks have made headlines in recent years by announcing plans for initial public offerings on stock markets. Those announcements prompted Liu Wei, deputy director of China’s State Administration for Religious affairs, to issue a press release in June saying the administration would object to the commercial exploitation of religious resources.

“Temples are non-profit organizations,” Mr. Liu said in comment on the administration’s website. “Developing a market economy should have its boundaries and not go below the social bottom line.”

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